Maqluba with Chicken or Lamb (مقلوبة)

مقلوبة (Maqluba). Maqluba is a traditional Palestinian meal that is one of my favorites! Maqluba is flavorful rice layered with chicken or lamb, toasted vermicelli, and fried vegetables. It is served flipped upside down and gets it's famous appearance from being upside down!

Maqluba in Arabic: مقلوبة

How to pronounce maqluba: mak-looo-beh

My Traditional Palestinian Maqluba Recipe is:

• A popular Arabic meal
• Delicious
• Flavorful
• Perfect for large families
• A popular Ramadan recipe!

Do you love Arabic food and want to learn how to make delicious authentic Arabic recipes at home? Make sure to read my complete guide on Cooking Arabic Food at Home!

WHAT IS MAQLUBA?

Maqluba is a popular Middle Eastern recipe made throughout the Levant region that originated in Palestine. Maqluba is made in a huge pot and layered with chicken, fried vegetables, rice, and spices. After maqluba is done cooking, it is flipped upside down onto a big serving platter, getting it's signature name "upside down". It is then topped with fried pine nuts.

Maqluba literally means "upside down." This dish can be a little tricky, and most families can't tell you the recipe because things are measured "with the eyes."

I wanted to share the recipe I make with measurements I learned from my mother in law and show you maqluba is easier than you may think!

WHERE IS MAQLOOBA FROM?

Maqluba is a popular recipe from the Levant region: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine.

Maqluba originated in Palestine. But today, is popular in many regions of the Middle East, each with their own version of maqluba.

WHAT SPICES ARE USED IN PALESTINIAN MAQLUBA?

Every Arabic woman makes her maqluba a little bit different! The way I learned traditional maqluba was using goya adobo, 7 spices, whole cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and bay leaves, salt, pepper, and stock for more flavor. I learned this recipe from my Jordanian mother in law!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST PALESTINIAN MAQLUBA RECIPE

Here are my 5 tips for an easy Palestinian maqluba! Don't be intimidated by all the directions, ingredients and steps, maqluba is much easier than it looks.

1. MAKE SURE TO CLEAN YOUR CHICKENS WELL. Washing the chickens with a mixture of lemon, vinegar, salt and water is a standard for Middle Eastern chicken recipes.
2. SOAK THE RICE. Soak the rice in warm water while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. DRAIN FRIED VEGETABLES ON PAPER TOWELS. If you don't drain excess liquid off, you could end up with soggy oily maqluba. For an even easier maqluba recipe, bake your vegetables on sheet trays drizzled with a little bit of olive oil till golden brown.
4. FRY (OR BAKE) VEGETABLES AND MAKE THE CHICKEN BROTH AT THE SAME TIME. Instead of waiting for the vegetables to cook, then making the broth, you can save time by doing both at the same time.
5. USE FRESH QUALITY SPICES. Fresh spices are a must in any flavorful Middle Eastern recipe. If you live in the states, you can find pretty good ingredients at a local Arabic shop. We usually have a relative bring back fresh spices from Jordan!

PALESTINIAN MAQLUBA INGREDIENTS

Here is the complete list of ingredients you will need to make a delicious traditional maqluba recipe at home.

To make maqluba very simple for you, I've divided it into 3 parts:

1. Vegetables
2. Broth
3. Rice

Vegetables

• 1 large or 2 small eggplant
• 1 head of cauliflower
• My mother in law also uses potatoes in hers

Broth

• 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion (+1 teaspoon adobo powder while sautéing)
• 2 whole chickens, cut into 6 pieces each, or the equivalent amount of bone-in lamb
• 4 teaspoons adobo powder
• 2 teaspoons 7 spices
• 2 packets sazon goya
• 4 cubes vegetable stock
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 whole cardamom pods, crushed to release more flavor
• 2 large bay leaves
• salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Rice

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 ½ cup short grain (Egyptian) rice
• 2 cups vermicelli noodles
• ½ teaspoon 7 spices
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

(For the 1 chicken smaller maqluba, like seen in my recipe video, simply divide all ingredients in half. I also wrote out the half batch of maqluba in the video description on my youtube video.)

HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC MAQLUBA LIKE MY MOTHER IN LAW

Good Arabic recipes are made by cleaning the chickens first. I never understood why they clean them so much until my husband introduced me to the "chicken smell." Once you smell it, you can not forget it. If you smell "chicken" that means the chicken isn't cleaned enough.

STEP 1 CLEAN CHICKEN FOR MAQLUBA

First, clean the chicken. This is done by soaking the chicken pieces in a bowl of water with lemon juice, salt, and vinegar.

How to clean the chickens and get the chicken smell out of chicken:

• In a very large bowl, add the 2 halal chickens that have been cut into 6 pieces each. Generously sprinkle salt over them.
• Squeeze 2 lemons over the chickens and put the lemon peel in the bowl too. Add about ¼ cup plain white vinegar.
• Finally, cover the chickens with warm water.
• Let the chicken sit while you prepare your other ingredients.

STEP 2 BAKE OR FRY VEGETABLES FOR MAQLUBA

How to prepare the vegetables for your Maqluba:

• Cut the head of cauliflower into bite sized pieces.
• Slice the eggplant into ¼ inch slices.
• Place the eggplant onto a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt.
• Once there are water droplets on the eggplant, pat them dry with another paper towel.

First, I'll tell you how to make maqluba with fried vegetables, which is the most traditional way. If you want a healthier faster maqluba, skip down to the baked vegetable section.

Heat 2 cast iron skillets with a high heat cooking oil. I like to use 2 because it goes a lot faster, but 1 will work just fine.

Next, line a couple of large dinner plates with paper towels. The paper towels will help to soak up the excess oil from the fried vegetables.

Fry the eggplant and cauliflower until they are nicely golden brown on all sides. Transfer golden pieces of maqluba vegetables onto the paper towel lined plate as they finish cooking.

FOR BAKED MAQLUBA VEGETABLES:

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Next, add the sliced vegetables. Drizzle the vegetables with a little bit of olive oil.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until they are golden brown.

STEP 3 MAKE THE MAQLUBA BROTH WITH MEAT

While your maqluba vegetables fry or bake, you can speed up making your maqluba by preparing the flavorful broth at the same time.

How to cook chicken for maqluba:

First, in a very large stock pan, sauté the 1 medium diced onion in about 2 tablespoons of ghee over medium heat. Sprinkle onions with 1 teaspoon of adobo powder.

Stir the onions until they are soft and translucent.

While the onions cook, drain the water from the bowl of chickens and discard the lemon peels. Rinse the chicken until the water runs clear.

Add the chicken (or lamb) to cooked onion, skin side down.

Add the maqluba spices on top of the chicken (or lamb):

• 4 teaspoons goya adobo powder
• 3 teaspoons 7 spices
• 2 packets sazon goya
• 4 cubes vegetable stock
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 crushed cardamom pods
• 2-3 whole bay leaves
• salt & pepper to taste

Toss the meat with the maqluba spices to coat the meat. Add 8-9 cups filtered water to cover the meat. Cover the pot with a lid and cook on low-medium for about 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

If you are cooking lamb, it will take much longer to cook so you may want to cook your lamb in a pressure cooker. I cook lamb in the maqluba broth for 30 minutes on high pressure for the perfect texture.

Turn off the heat and transfer the chicken pieces to a large plate. Drain the broth into a large heat proof bowl through a fine mesh strainer.

STEP 4: PREPARE MAQLUBA RICE WITH TOASTED VERMICELLI

Add 2 cups basmati rice and 1 ½ cup Egyptian rice to a large bowl. Wash the rice under cool water until the water is not cloudy and runs clear. Cover the rice with warm water and soak while you toast the vermicelli noodles.

Use one of the warm cast iron skillets from frying the vegetables to toast your vermicelli noodles. Add ¾ package of the noodles to the warm cast iron pan.

Stir the noodles gently with a wooden spoon the entire time they are in the pan. Do not leave them unattended because they can burn very quickly!

Drain all the water from the rice and sprinkle ~1 teaspoon of adobo goya across it.

Add the toasted vermicelli noodles, ½ teaspoon 7 spices, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, and ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Gently toss the soaked rice with the toasted vermicelli noodles so that they are evenly combined.

STEP 5 ASSEMBLE MAQLUBA AND COOK

How to layer your maqluba for cooking:

If you don't have a non stick pan (I only use stainless steel), add a sheet of parchment paper to the bottom of your pot to help prevent the maqluba from sticking.

Add the chickens to the bottom of the pot, skin side down.

Layer the biggest pieces of eggplant and cauliflower across the top of the chicken.

Add ¾ of the rice mixture.

Add the remaining eggplant and cauliflower. Top it with the remaining rice mixture.

Add the broth back into the pot. The broth should sit about ½ inch over the rice, not more than that or you might end up with a watery maqluba.

How to cook traditional maqluba

Turn the heat on high until you hear the water boiling. Fluff the rice a little bit, then cover your pot with a lid.

Reduce the heat to low.

Cook approximately 2 hours.

You can tell when maqluba is done cooking either:

• when you no longer hear the water bubbling, or
• by lifting the rice from the side of the pot to see if there is water left in the pan.

If there is water left it is not done! You don't want water in your Maqluba.

Once it is done, turn off the heat and let the pot rest, covered, for about 10 minutes.

HOW DO YOU FLIP A MAQLUBA?

Place a towel on the table where you will be serving. The pan gets VERY hot so a towel helps protect your table! Place a large serving pan on top of the Maqluba pot as if you were replacing the lid.

Quickly flip the pan upside down holding the bottom of the pot and the serving platter. You will probably want to ask someone strong to do this! Tap the top and sides of the pot to loosen up all the pieces.

Remove the pan and watch your Maqluba be revealed! Sprinkle pine nuts across the top and serve with the salad.

What to serve maqluba with:

My traditional maqluba recipe is served with a chopped cucumber tomato salad and plain yogurt.

How to serve your chicken Maqluba

Serve warm maqluba on a large platter topped with toasted pine nuts. Maqluba is a family style meal, so place it in the center of the table so everyone can gather around and keep helping themselves to seconds and thirds!

And no Arabic meal is complete without Arabic tea afterwards, make sure to try out my Authentic Jordanian Bedouin Tea Recipe!

I hope you love my maqluba recipe as much as we do!

OTHER TRADITIONAL MIDDLE EASTERN RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

1. Galayet Bandora
2. Jordanian Ouzi with Roasted Chicken
3. Ouzi Lamb
4. Palestinian Musakhan
5. Chicken Kabsa
6. Arabic Chopped Salad
7. Shorbat Adas (Arabic Red Lentil Soup)
8. Arabic Stuffed Grape Leaves
9. Fasolia with Lebanese Rice
10. Saniya Jaj
11. Jaj Mahshi (Stuffed Chicken)
12. Persian Pomegranate Chicken

Looking to make some Arabic dessert? Try my Arabic Walnut Baklava!

FAQ's

Frequently asked questions about how to make authentic Arabic Maqluba.

WHY IS MAQLUBA FLIPPED?

Maqluba is flipped because when you make maqluba, you layer the ingredients starting at the bottom. So when it is done cooking and you flip it, those perfectly cooked ingredients end up on top.

WHAT DOES MAQLUBA MEAN IN ARABIC?

Maqluba in Arabic literally translates to upside down.

WHAT ARE ARABIC 7 SPICES?

7 spices is a fragrant mixture of ground black pepper, paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and ground cinnamon. I wouldn't try mixing this yourself though, because I'm not sure the ratios they use.

We get our mix from Jordan. When you buy yours at the Arabic store make sure it is high quality. Quality spices make a HUGE different in the flavor of your maqluba.

WHAT ARE VERMICELLE NOODLES?

Vermicelli noodles are a thin form of rice noodles. You can find them in any Arabic market. For the recipe, you will use ¾ of a 1 pound bag.

HOW DO I MAKE MAQLUBA HEALTHIER?

Maqluba is a very heavy meal made with a lot of white rice and fried veggies. There are 2 simple swaps to make maqluba much healthier.

1. Substitute the white rice for brown rice or freekeh
2. Steam (pressure cook) then broil on high veggies instead of frying
3. OR, bake vegetables till golden brown

For a healthy maqluba, read the recipe notes and the substitution suggestions in the recipe card below.

If you try my Maqluba Recipe, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!